After the maintenance rights are opened, the prices of used new energy vehicles will not generally increase, but will show a differentiated trend, and the overall residual value is expected to be restored. In April 2026, six ministries and commissions jointly issued new regulations to fully enforce the opening of third-party maintenance rights for new energy vehicle batteries, motors, and electronic controls. Car companies must open diagnostic data and maintenance manuals to compliance agencies, and car owners choose formal third party maintenance does not affect the original company's warranty.

This aims to break the "endless cycle" caused by maintenance monopolies in the past.

Break the endless cycle of maintenance monopoly

The core of the new regulations is to solve the fundamental pain points in the used car market. Previously, the maintenance of the third power company was strictly blocked by car companies. Third-party repair shops did not have diagnostic authority. Car owners could only go to designated stores and often faced "replacement repairs"-for example, a minor fault in the battery pack could have been repaired for several hundred yuan, but they were told that a complete replacement was needed, and the cost often started at 60,000 yuan.

This causes car dealers to "open a blind box" when collecting a car. Because they cannot judge the battery condition and the maintenance cost is uncontrollable, they can only significantly reduce the price or even reject it, forming a vicious cycle of "the repair shop will not repair it → the car dealer dare not accept it → the car owner is losing money."

After the implementation of the new regulations, industry estimates show that the maintenance costs of the three power companies are expected to drop by 50% to 90%. More importantly, the "National New Energy Vehicle Power Battery Traceability Information Platform" launched with the new regulations establishes a full life cycle "digital ID card" for each battery, and the maintenance history and attenuation status can be checked. This eliminates information gaps in transactions. For used cars with complete traceability records, the hedging rate is expected to increase by 8%-12%.

When car dealers collect cars, they no longer need to be overly afraid of sky-high maintenance bills, and their evaluation of insured and old cars will be more reasonable.

The differentiation logic of used car prices

Opening up maintenance rights will not increase the price of all models, and the market valuation will vary from vehicle to vehicle, and the gap may widen.

Consolidate the advantages of electric-replaced models

For electric-replacement models such as NIO, the batteries are uniformly operated and maintained by the government, which avoids attenuation anxiety. Car dealers reported that the 7-year-old NIO ES8 has a value preservation rate of more than 30% higher than that of ordinary trams of the same age. After the maintenance rights were opened, the maintenance costs of its body parts also decreased, making the advantages more obvious.

Mainstream brands are stronger

For Tesla, BYD and other models with large market volume and excellent energy consumption control, the second-hand cars themselves have better circulation. When maintenance costs are reduced and vehicle condition information is transparent, it will enhance purchasing confidence and help stabilize residual value. Data shows that for models with low energy consumption such as BYD Seagull, the three-year hedging rate has ranked among the top of the pure electricity list.

Old cars and weak models are still under pressure

For ordinary trams that are more than 8 years old, their residual value has previously been as low as about 10% off the original price. Opening maintenance rights can alleviate the fear of "return to zero", but it is difficult to reverse the depreciation caused by technological iteration or low brand recognition. In addition, for models that lack complete traceability records or have poor early energy consumption optimization, there is limited room for price improvement.

Realistic challenges and future paths

To fully release the policy dividends, several hurdles still need to be overcome.

Can the outside repair shop withstand this wave of policy "dividends"?

First of all, the building of third-party maintenance capabilities is a key bottleneck. The maintenance of the third power company involves high-voltage electricity and has a high technical threshold. At present, the number of professional maintenance outlets across the country is insufficient, especially in the second and third line and county markets,where there is a "100-kilometer service vacuum belt" and professional technicians are scarce. It takes time to go from "have the right to repair" to "convenient repair" and "able to repair".

Secondly, the risk of quality assurance disputes still needs to be refined. Although the new regulations clarify that "external repairs will not affect the quality assurance", the battery pack is precise, and if there is a problem in the future, it is easy to argue about "whether it is caused by third-party maintenance." This requires clearer operating specifications and identification standards to protect the rights and interests of car owners.

In addition, falling maintenance costs will also indirectly affect auto insurance pricing. Insurance companies are shifting from "vehicle-oriented" to "risk-oriented" actuarial calculations. Reduction in maintenance risks should theoretically make premiums more reasonable, but model adjustment requires a process.

In short, the opening of maintenance rights is a key step in repairing the "trust gap" in the new energy used car market. It allows prices to better reflect the true condition and product power of the vehicle, rather than being excessively suppressed by maintenance fears. However, a general increase is not realistic, and the final price is still determined by the quality of the model, market supply and demand, and the speed of implementation of supporting services.

Source: Used car Xiaopang said

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